Comedy news: Such Small Portions's blog

The crowd were hanging on every word, diligently taking everything in as his confidence visibly grew at every moment. No, this isn’t Lembit Opik’s debut comedy show; it was his pre-show press conference and the audience were the British political press pack.

At mid-day downstairs at the Backstage Comedy Club, a small comedy venue just off Leicester Square, Opik had called a press conference with the British media to explain the reasons behind his move into the world of comedy.

The problem with Opik, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, is that there is no denying that he is a bit of a joke. He is a jovial character but essentially he is a politician who became a celebrity due to his appearances on comedy shows – and a relationship with a cheeky girl - who is now looking to become a stand-up comic.

In short, he became a caricature of himself a long time ago; which is one possible reason why his electorate lost faith in him and voted him out of office.

Yet no-one is sure whether he is really looking to make a serious career change, hence the interest in his new job.

“The one good thing about comedy is that it generally happens at night so you don’t have to give up your day job,” Opik says after being asked whether he is taking his comedy career seriously.  “I’m going to come in here with a wry smile, a few observations and a handful of hope.

“We are going to find out tonight whether you can transfer some of the same skills from politics to comedy, this is a bit like a human experiment if you like and this is the first laboratory.”

Trying to bridge the political comedy divide does make you wonder whether Lembit should go on tour with Eddie Izzard – who he may well meet coming the other way on his way into, rather than out of, office.

Yet his move into comedy could be more intriguing than anything he has witnessed in the halls of Westminster.

For a start comedy as an industry isn’t well endowed financially unless you are good enough to reach the very upper echelons, such as the aforementioned Izzard or Michael McIntyre, and I have a hunch that Lembit isn’t going to be content to tour the open mic nights from Bethnal Green to Bath learning to hone his craft.

So unless Opik - who admitted that even though he's being paid to do the gig overall lost money getting  there - can find a way of paying his Montgomeryshire mortgage, the only real option left to him is to move into the world of celebrity, rather than a pure comedy role, and use his caricature status.

This is where the real interest in the story lies, and the curious reasoning behind calling the press conference for the maximum amount of exposure possible for someone who is still doing on of his first-ever gigs.

Half an hour into the conference Lembit was asked whether he thought he could make a serious comedy career or whether his next move would be onto TV talent shows, it was met with a strong laugh and a pregnant pause. 

Set the cameras rolling. Opik’s comedy career will forever be skewed towards his pre-comedy fame and his appearances on Have I Got News For You, not his ability to deliver a succinct one-liner.

And, though his first real gig may be an open spot in front of 60 people, it is entirely feasible that the next will be in at the annual Vodafone summer party where he will be able to put the tidy sum of £5,000 in his back pocket. And, while the panto season may be a long way away, underneath St Martin’s Square I am sure I heard the phrase ‘Where’s the failed politician? He’s Behind You!’

But will Opik care? In front of the media circus there were some subtle hints of what may be on his mind: “I guess I’ve always been keen to push the boat out more than some of the more conventional politicians, and even immediately after losing my seat and in some Film Noir way I thought I didn’t want to hang around in the background, just get right out there and become a bigger story than the fact that Labour lost their position of government.”

And in that I think we have it. John Lennon once said he was bigger than Jesus, Lembit is bidding to become bigger than the Government – and he hasn’t taken to the stage yet. 

As I am writing this the BBC news announced, ‘And finally… Lembit Opik’s new job is a bit of a joke,’ We wish him luck with it.

Tim Clark